has announced his departure from the political arena after being prohibited from participating in the country’s presidential election re-run scheduled for this month.

This decision follows Georgescu’s presidential campaign late last year, where he secured a victory in the initial round of voting. However, Romania’s highest court later nullified the outcome due to allegations of electoral irregularities and Russian meddling. was subsequently barred from competing in this month’s election, which resulted in a win for pro-European Union candidate Nicusor Dan.

“I have chosen to passively observe public and social affairs,” Georgescu, 63, stated in a video released online on Monday night. “I have decided to remain independent of any political party structure… I am not affiliated with any political group whatsoever.”

Georgescu – who ran as an independent candidate in November – explained that his decision to step back was made after the conclusion of the presidential race, which, in his view, signaled that “the sovereignist movement has reached its conclusion.”

“Even though this political chapter has ended, I am confident that the values and principles we fought for together remain strong,” he added. “My dear ones, I have always maintained that we would make history, not politics.”

In February, prosecutors initiated criminal proceedings against Georgescu, accusing him of inciting the undermining of the constitutional order, campaign finance violations, and establishing or supporting fascist, racist, xenophobic, or antisemitic organizations, among other charges. He is scheduled to appear at the prosecutor’s office in Bucharest on Tuesday.

Despite an apparent extensive social media campaign promoting him, Georgescu declared zero campaign spending in last year’s election. Consequently, a Romanian court made the unprecedented decision to annul the election.

“This December, Romania outright canceled the results of a presidential election based on flimsy suspicions from an intelligence agency and substantial pressure from its European neighbors,” Vice President JD Vance remarked at the Munich Security Conference in February.

“Now, the argument was that Russian disinformation had influenced the Romanian elections, but I would urge my European colleagues to maintain perspective. You may believe it is wrong for Russia to purchase social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can even condemn it on the global stage. However, if your democracy can be undermined by a few hundred thousand dollars in digital advertising from a foreign country, then it was not very resilient to begin with,” Vance added.

Georgescu stirred controversy by referring to Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders from the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes, according to the Associated Press. He has also previously praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a man who loves his country” and has questioned Ukraine’s statehood, although he denies being pro-Russian.

Georgescu has contended that the election was “canceled illegally and unconstitutionally,” and after being barred from the May rerun, he accused the authorities of “inventing evidence to justify the theft” of the elections.

Earlier this year, thousands of protesters demonstrated in the streets of Bucharest in support of Georgescu.